Leo (July 22 to August 22)

by: Alfred F. Seward

The sun, the source of all heat and light, is the governing planet in this sign, and as a consequence people born therein are remarkable in many ways.

In personal appearance they are, as a rule, of medium height, with strong, excellently proportioned bodies, broad shoulders, full and beautiful eyes, usually blue or hazel, strong, pleasant voices, with a quick buoyant step.

They are warm-hearted, sympathetic, generous, magnetic, possessing highly emotional natures of great inherent goodness. Withal they are fearless and courageous, with strong intuition and remarkable insight.

These qualities are so closely intermingled with a philosophical, yet very practical nature that it will readily be understood that Leo people must be inevitably of strongly marked personality.

With proper training, they become the most skillful and efficient nurses in the world. Jean H. Dunant, the originator and founder of the Red Cross Society in France, that famous organization that has brought comfort and courage and consolation to so many thousands of stricken humanity, was born under this sign.

With Leo people, impulse comes from the heart, not from the head, and they are manageable only by appealing to their love and sympathy. Argument and cold reasoning are useless to move them. Let impulse be coupled with their inborn courage and determination and they rush on to alarming extremes, unmindful of cost or consequences. Their quick intuition, however, may intervene to check their rashness before it is too late.

Under the benign influence of the true individuality of this sign, its people have high ideals and both inspire and entertain the most loyal love, pure, trusting and abundant. In their enthusiasm they create ideals which they are prepared to worship unstintingly and illimitably, and their affection survives any test except the great and inevitable one of the ideal. Brought face to face with reality and convinced of the falseness of the idol they had erected, there ensues a brief but severe heartache, followed by a transfer of affections to new objects, where love again flourishes with tropical intensity.

These people are born lovers, and can no more exist without sympathy and affection than a plant without water, light and warmth. If they do not get it from one source they will seek it elsewhere.

Their love is as loyal as it is intense. They resent a reflection upon the object of their regard with the utmost vigor. In fact, they are always fighting, or ready to fight, for those they love. To prove this statement, let the experimenter cast an aspersion upon a close friend or relative of a Leo person. The result will be highly and quickly convincing. And this defense of their loved ones has the further effect of increasing, if possible, their affection for the object of the censure or aspersion.

Of all people in the world, those born under this sign love amusement. It is the more dreamy, sensual sort that appeals to them, however, for they dislike physical exertion. Mental effort is equally distasteful, yet, despite this fact, their wonderful powers of intuition enable them to acquire knowledge, develop talent, and attain success in many field of endeavor.

Leo people possess almost unlimited power to sway and inspire their fellow creatures. This faculty has made of them great generals, great orators and great actors. They climb to high places over the heads of their more tenacious and plodding fellowmen by sheer force of personality, good nature, and magnetism. Napoleon gave a striking example of this trait.

On the stage it is possible for these people to attain the highest rank—Mrs. Sarah Siddons and Mary Anderson Navarro are examples. Their intensely emotional nature with their keen perception and instinctive appeals to the inmost hearts of their audiences, give them the power to move them to transports of pleasure. Invariably, however, it will be found that these Leo people act from intuition, and achieve success without the long period of grinding study and analysis that are necessary to less or differently gifted natures. As a matter of fact, their aversions to study any analysis is so strong as to make it actually out of the question for them. Leo people seem to know things without being taught—without knowing themselves how they know, and without being able to give ground or reason for their knowledge.

In music, also, they should find gratification and success, combining brilliancy of technique with ready inspiration. They should listen to much good music, in any case, and if they have any talent in that direction, either for vocal or instrumental music, it will be little less than a crime to neglect it. The same rule will apply to any of the arts, or literature, or to the more intellectual professions.

Leo people, when living under the influence of the higher nature, have amazing power over the minds of others. They may become powerful molders of public opinion,--if they will but learn the pathway of silence when silence is best. In general conversation, in repartee, in story-telling, they are gifted far beyond the average. They always make their own point, and are equally sure and quick to see the points made by others.

Courage under adversity is one of the most marked and admirably characteristics of the right-living Leo nature. They do not care for detail; would much rather plan work than execute it. In fact, they may not be innocent of the charge of laziness, because they love warmth and ease and indolence. Yet when adversity comes, when necessity arises, they display unbound fortitude and inspiring courage, and do their full duty promptly and effectively.

The people of this sign retain their youth and exuberance of spirit until well toward the end of earthly life. In many instances they really appear to grow younger as they become older.

These wondrous people have the greatest love for their own. In the rearing and management of their children then display great wisdom, and give no heed to the counsel of others. Mothers under this sign, who are paragons of gentleness and tenderness, will display the utmost ferocity if their children are injured or even reproved by others. They demand for all that is theirs the same measure of affection that is bestowed upon themselves. In homely phrase, their sentiment is “Love me, love my dog.”

Planetary currents and solar fluids continually surround and permeate the people of this sign, and at time these mystic forces seem to illumine their personalities and cause them to seem possessed of supernatural power. These unseen forces, acting upon a mind rightly attuned and aspiring to pure and lofty attainments, confer immense possibilities for good, and make Leo people among the most talented, most blessed, and most lovable people in the world. Yet where the heart of the subject has not sought out the higher paths,--where the animal nature is in the ascendancy, these planetary influences are equally potent for evil. In short, they are strong weapons; their use for blessing or blasting must depend on the individual.

Undeveloped Leo people are possessed of many grave faults, all of which, however, many be removed. To no other class is it more important to overcome these flaws of character, because of the immeasurable happiness, honor, peace and love that will come when this is done.

Rashness, impetuosity, cunning, deceit, anger, vaulting ambition, and the passions of the flesh are the most pronounced of their defects. They must learn that their intuitions, (while it is true they are nearly always correct in the end) must not be followed blindly. They must not jump at conclusions and act without further reflection. They must learn to curb their passions, especially that of affection for the opposite sex, and should spare no means to assure themselves by every possible test, that the object of their affection is worthy and honorable.

For ambition they should substitute the desire for the higher life of the spirit, lofty aims and pure individuality.

Many of the greatest and best people known in history have come out of this sign, and in all cases their greatness and goodness have been the outgrowth of the determination to overcome the grossest part of their natures and let the clear light of calm reason and the blessing of clean living claim full sovereignty.

In spite of their acknowledged courage, Leo people are subject to periods of depression and despondency. When these appear, let the person betake himself or herself to seclusion and quiet, and meditate on the great truths of Astrology and their bearing on his or her case. Let the faults and weaknesses be summed up and reviewed. Courage is there to look the facts in the face, and cheer is there in the knowledge that unseen, most unknowable powers are ready to aid the subject to exercise his great will power, cast out all doubts and fears, and start anew with fresh resolves.

Do not dwell on the follies and shortcomings of others. Search out and destroy your own errors, that you may go forth to claim your rightful place among the most blessed of earth and carry hope and consolation and help to those who need them.

Those born under Leo see the light under most favorable auspices, and they should firmly grasp their great natural advantages. They can command and control the mysterious forces of the universe if they follow the plain teachings of Astrology, and do not dissipate and waste their energies, nor direct them to wrong designs. Thousands of examples prove that true happiness and prosperity can never come to Leo people until they learn how to control and dominate their lower natures; but there is no limit for them when they once realize and accept the better course mapped out for their guidance.

In marrying, Leo people must exercise the greatest caution and prudence. A mistake in this will lead to a life of continual discussion and trouble. The step should not come more settled and the spirit molded into the likeness of goodness, charity and wisdom. Marriage with one from the sign of Sagittarius (Nov. 22 to Dec. 21) or Aries (March 21 to April 19) is more free from objectionable tendencies, and is quite likely to prove happy. Also harmonize with those of Aquarius (Jan. 20 to Feb. 19). The children of such a marriage may be expected to be strong and healthy.

Children born under Leo are always exceedingly sensitive, passionate, self-willed, talented and imitative. For this reason parents should strive to teach them self-control and at the same time set before them always the best example of right living. These children require a strong hand to guide them and to guard them from many evils and vices to which their un-awakened natures are prone. Their minds and hands should be constantly employed with pleasant, wholesome and useful tasks, and they require amusements varied in nature and almost constant in supply. The possibility of developing them into grand and noble characters should impel their parents to every effort to give them the proper training and restraint.

Leo people are so finely organized and so sensitive that they often go through life without being understood and appreciated. There is a love of sunshine and shade, evolving into a sweeter, nobler purpose as the shadows of life lengthen adown the wavering landscape of time and melt at last into the twilight of a dim eternity.

Weakness of the lungs, heart troubles, violent fevers, affections of the kidneys and liver and backaches, are the diseases mostly to be feared by Leo people. However, all tendencies to disease and other troubles may be counteracted and distress averted by following the teachings of Astrology.

They have an excellent memory and long remember an act of kindness, are ever grateful to those who have bestowed courtesies and the last to forsake a friend and a friendship once formed. They can rarely see a flaw—they are apt to go to the extremes in all things, love, hatred, appetites—passion, their sexual or love nature is usually strong. This one thing alone has been the rocks on which many beautiful lives of Leo people have been wrecked.

January and October are the most favorable months for people born in this sign, and Sunday the day of greatest pleasure and activity. They eagerly anticipate the coming of the sacred day, and sometimes endeavor to concentrate within its limits the energies of an ordinary week.

Leo people are honorable in their intentions, though frequently their natures are misunderstood. They find it far more agreeable to plan their work than the details involved in doing it.

The Sun being the governing planet of this sign, it is frequently found that they are greatly influenced by it, on the days when all nature is flooded with its golden rays. They are filled with confidence, light hearted and free from care, while on the days of cloudiness and gloom they lack confidence, push and energy to carry them on to success.

The sign Leo rules over the heart, thus they are subject to organic weakness, cramps, palpitation, spasms of the heart and swooning. Other ailments common to these people are scrofula and other skin diseases caused by poor circulation and impurities of the blood, violent fevers, spinal trouble, weakness of the back, lungs and kidneys, torpid liver, convulsions, apoplexy, pleurisy, gout and jaundice. These afflictions are caused by the violation of nature’s laws and can all be avoided by right living and self-control.

The occupations to which Leo people are best suited are those of a mental nature rather than those of a manual. They make excellent chemists and physicians. As physicians they are very magnetic and sympathetic, thus either patients become greatly attached to them. They seem to inspire hope and love of life in all who come under their gentle ministrations. With proper training they also become exceedingly skilled nurses.

They frequently obtain great eminence as ministers, actors and public speakers having that rare personality and magnetism which gives them power to sway great audiences. Many prominent bankers, brokers and manufacturers were born under this sign as well as jewelers, caterers, confectioners, house and floral decorators, as they are naturally artistic and orderly.

Leo people are ever anxious to engage in large undertakings. They are as a rule, more successful when associated with people of a cool, deliberate, reasoning mentality.

About the Author

Alfred F. Seward

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